Comcast Reports Increased Profit, Revenues For Q1 After NBCU Merger

Comcast yesterday reported an "increase in first-quarter revenue and profit with the addition of broadband subscribers and the completion of a deal for control of NBC Universal,” according to Alex Sherman of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The company reported that net income was $943M, or $0.34 a share, compared with $866M, or $0.31, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $12.1B from $9.2B a year ago, when Comcast "didn’t control NBC Universal.” NBC Universal “made up about 30 percent of Comcast’s revenue for the quarter.” NBC’s revenue was $4.35B compared with $4.92B a year ago. NBC revenue rose 5.2%, excluding the ’10 Vancouver Games, which brought in $782M in the first quarter of ‘10. Revenue from Comcast’s cable assets was $9.08B, a 5.8% increase from a year ago. Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan said of the Comcast-NBCU merger, “When the deal was announced, I think a lot of analysts gave NBC-U a stale valuation. I think it’s worth well north of $40 billion at this point” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/3).

ALL EYES ON ME: In N.Y., Bill Carter notes first-quarter earnings for CBS “were up to $202 million, or 29 cents a share, exceeding Wall Street forecasts.” CBS’ earnings “expanded sharply in the quarter thanks mostly to its network programming, as well as a new deal for the NCAA basketball tournament that made a losing property a profitable one” (N.Y. TIMES, 5/4).